1809. Temperance is the moral virtue that moderates the attraction of pleasures and provides balance in the use of created goods. It ensures the will’s mastery over instincts and keeps desires within the limits of what is honorable. the temperate person directs the sensitive appetites toward what is good and maintains a healthy discretion: “Do not follow your inclination and strength, walking according to the desires of your heart.”72 Temperance is often praised in the Old Testament: “Do not follow your base desires, but restrain your appetites.”73 In the New Testament it is called “moderation” or “sobriety.” We ought “to live sober, upright, and godly lives in this world.”74
To live well is nothing other than to love God with all one’s heart, with all one’s soul and with all one’s efforts; from this it comes about that love is kept whole and uncorrupted (through temperance). No misfortune can disturb it (and this is fortitude). It obeys only (God) (and this is justice), and is careful in discerning things, so as not to be surprised by deceit or trickery (and this is prudence).75
Aprofunde seus conhecimentos
580. Why is it called the “Lord’s Prayer”?
451. How did Jesus act in regard to the Sabbath?
330. What is the effect of the ordination to the diaconate?
101. In what sense is the life of Christ a Mystery?
552. How can adoration be defined?
450. Why did God “bless the Sabbath day and declare it sacred” (Exodus 20:11)?
589. How is the Name of God made holy in us and in the world?
Acesse nossos estudos biblicos:
What is the importance of faith in the Christian life, according to the Bible?
The Dedication of the Temple in Jerusalem: Analysis of the Ceremony (1 Chronicles 22-29)
How important is God’s love to our lives, according to 1 John 4:8?
What does the promise of salvation and redemption in the midst of judgment in Micah 2:12-13 mean?
What is the role of the Holy Spirit in the sanctification of the Christian?
